Two schools of freedom are considered and compared, 'the liberty school' and 'the real freedom school'. For the liberty school, freedom is freedom of choice. In the classical understanding, that is seen as a matter of rights. In the modern, revised understanding, it is seen as depending on rights, resources and arenas. For the real freedom school, freedom is a matter of being one's own master. This is viewed not as 'rational choice' but as being in control of both the ends and the means in shaping one's life. Freedom is now a function of liberty and reason. The challenge the real freedom school puts to us is the psychological problem of self-control. The second part of the article considers and defies 'reason'. Reaon is seen as a competence that must be learned. It consists of the application in life choices of values and norms. Values and norms are beliefs about what is good (or bad) and right (or wrong). Operational values and norms are grounded in evidence-based faith and are learnt in institutions, in particular in families, schools, and arenas of deliberation. The politics of freedom goes to the protection and nurturing of institutions. The method of analysis is individualistic, but the final conclusions social. It is argued that the real freedom school of freedom should be the preferred one for the advancement and protection of freedom in today's world.